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Lovia Music Center/Reviews
This is the central index page for reviews from the Lovia Music Center. ---- *Band: Naselni Jazzeek *Album: Nadasha *Year: 2010 Star rating: (0.7) Nadasha, the debut album of Oceana hip-hop band Naselni Jazzeek, is best-known for containing the hit single "Ofurchunet Zosnul o'un Shen". However, it is not purely a hip-hop album, also showing the band's Oceana roots through folk music, and featuring progressive rock moments. Right from the start of the album, the "dual nature" of the music becomes apparent: the first track is the traditional Oceana folk anthem, "Kem that lew is espavat", but the rendition is far from traditional. Folk-like singing and guitars are set to a hip-hop beat, giving a rather odd feeling. Additionally, the constant background noise (talking, objects being shifted, irregular background singing) makes the song sound like it was recorded in a pub, contrasting with the band's singles. The opening track is followed by the relatively conventional, upbeat hip-hop song "Iaf Feague to Give". The third track is "A Know That Thu Know", one of the band's older and better-known songs. Then follows the single "Nove Revolutsia". While it is a relatively simple protest song, it is unique for the Oceana language and culture, and has a catchy beat. The following track, "Feyr", is another "unconventional" piece for the band: it features a synthesizer played by Leonard Sheraldin of Hyperbola, with strong guitars and various beats in the background. In addition, it is an instrumental, which distinguishes it from every other song on the album, and has rather progressive rock feeling to it. "Feyr" is followed by "Ofurchunet Zosnul o'un Shen", the album's catchy and popular hit single, emblematic of the band's hip-hop style without losing track of melody and harmony as some hip-hop music does. The song is followed by another rather progressive song, "Ewtecksong", paralleling "Feyr". "Ewtecksong" is unusually calm for the album, with the beat existing in the background while synthesizers, gentle guitars and interdispersed singing take the foreground, and is also the longest track present, outside of the "single-range" inhabited by most of the tracks on the album. The next pair of songs, "Crew o'Mine Rook" and "Feague Fly Eread", are relatively "normal" hip-hop tracks, with a slightly dark feeling to them. The next song, "Den 'Onsten", has quite a folk-music feel to it, especially the choruses. The music, however, is similarly arranged to the opening track, with folky guitars, not-really-folky beats and continuous pub-like sounds (here quite appropriate, it being a song about an Oceana drinking feast). "Den 'Onsten" is followed by a pair of bleak, story-telling songs, "Stagenitsh It Fo Me" and "Rani I That Mouning". The album closes with another folk-like song, an ode to the city of Hurbanova, simply named "Hurbanoft". The song is rather cheerful and features guest vocalist Kelly Adla. Overall, the album is a bit confused/confusing stylistically, but it contains enough popular songs to give it commercial viability, and the band's counterpointing of hip-hop and Oceana folk is definitely interesting. ---- *Band: Hyperbola *Album: Hyperbola *Year: 2011 ---- *Band: Noisewave *Album: Attack, Envelop and Decay *Year: 1997 Star rating: (0.6) Attack, Envelop and Decay is the first released album of techno producer Noisewave, already known in Lovia by a series of singles he has released since 1993. The album is a bit of a mixed batch in a number of ways. A number of already-known tracks, taken from Noisewave's early and Warped Records singles, are present on the album. Perhaps the most notable of these is the upbeat, catchy "Morning Fix", Noisewave's first single. The ethereal "Heaven Up There" closes the album beautifully, and the powerful bass of "This 808 Life" and the scintillating "Unity" are also highlights of the album. Out of Noisewave's previously released singles, the most notable absence is his remix of Dance 2 Trance's "We Came in Peace", possibly because of copyright issues. The remainder of the album (the new material), however, is not quite as consistent in quality. The title track "Attack, Envelop and Decay" opens the album with a powerful beat and a variety of interesting synth effects. However, several of the other tracks, including "Instant Dance", "Come Here" and "Clean Machine", feel a bit formulaic and repetitive, with patchy, seemingly hurried production and few qualities that make them stand out individually, which makes them seem more like last-minute filler rather than what one could expect on the debut album of a promising producer like Noisewave. Apparently Noisewave had a nervous breakdown not long before this album was released; maybe that has something to do with it. Also, on the track "Explosion", Noisewave overdoes the abrasiveness and distortion, giving a somewhat unpleasant result. Finally, Attack, Envelop and Decay features two tracks which deviate from Noisewave's usual techno style, and indicate interesting possible directions in the producer's future. These are named "The House Electric" 1 and 2, and feature slower beats and synths along with many avant-garde effects and all sorts of samples. These two long tracks showcase a plethora of genres and influences, and also show us more of Noisewave himself than his more commercial work. Interesting moments include what seems to be an interview with Noisewave himself on "The House Electric 1", discussing the stresses of club tours and culture; and a flute part on "The House Electric 2" (it is unclear whether this is a sample or played/arranged by Noisewave himself). While fans of Noisewave's more commercial work may find these tracks odd, they are definitely an interesting experiment and show us some of Noisewave's personal life and influences. It is to be seen whether Noisewave will develop this aspect of his music more in the future. Overall, Attack, Envelop and Decay seems a bit hurriedly put together, with inconsistent musical quality. But the album is a competent debut for Noisewave and shows a promising future for the producer, and, if anything, it is a useful compilation of his singles. ---- *Band: The Youngsters *Album: They Are Few *Year: 2009 Category:Green Party Category:Lovia Music Center